Getty
When the St. Louis Blues win, “Gloria” plays at the Enterprise Center. The song, a popular ’80s tune by Laura Branigan, has become a tradition for Blues fans, almost all of whom have adopted a keen liking to a song that isn’t exactly what you’d expect to hear after a team wins a hockey game.
However, “Gloria” is the anthem that Blues fans have run away with — and you’ll never guess how this all came to be. Here’s a hint: It all started in Philadelphia.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘Gloria’ Was (Re)Born in January After a Few Blues Players Hung Out at a Bar in Philly
#PlayGloria started here!
You might be wondering how the ’80s disco classic got dug up from the archives. As you might expect, it’s kind of a funny story. Before the Blues met the Flyers in Philly, a few players went out to a private social club in South Philadelphia called The Jacks NYB.
The guys, Jaden Schwartz, Robbi Fabbri, Robert Bortuzzo, Alex Steen, Joel Edmundson — and their friend Larry Flowers — were watching the Eagles/Bears game.
Flowers shared the story with the guys on the Splittin’ Chiclets Podcast.
“The boys in the club are part of a New Year’s brigade… there’s a competition in the city of Philadelphia. It’s a major event. And our club, the Jacks Club, happened to have won the entire New Year’s Brigade… And their victory song became ‘Gloria.’ So, naturally, the Eagles are playing and it’s an unreal game. One of the boys yells out, ‘Play ‘Gloria,’ Play ‘Gloria,”” Flowers explained.
The Blues players in the club got a kick out of it and “Gloria” became a thing. When the Blues beat the Flyers the next night, they too requested “Gloria,” and thus, a victory song was born.
Many Sports Fans in Philly Are Cheering for the Blues
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Philly sports fans were charmed by the “Gloria” story and have taken on the Blues as a sort of a second team. Since the Flyers failed to make the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, fans are rooting for the Blues this postseason (it helps that they are playing the Boston Bruins, given the Philly-Boston rivalry).
Of course, the guys at The Jacks NYB are all in when it comes to the Blues and they are loving every minute of the playoffs this year. Check out the video above. In it, you’ll see people celebrating the Blues’ win over the San Jose Sharks. It’s kind of hard to believe that the video was taken at a bar in Philly!
And St. Louis is even more obsessed with “Gloria.” There’s already a “Play ‘Gloria'” beer on tap at Center Ice Brewery. The song is all over the radio in Missouri’s capital and, if the team wins the Cup, the song will undoubtedly be played multiple times during a celebratory parade.